US Department of Labor notifies former Oak Ridge Hospital workers of possible inclusion in new EEOICPA Special Exposure Cohort designation

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Oak Ridge Hospital employees who worked there between May 15, 1950, and Dec. 31, 1959, about a new class of employees added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act’s (EEOICPA) Special Exposure Cohort (SEC). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers may also be entitled to benefits.

A worker who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. The new SEC class of former employees includes all employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked in any part of the Oak Ridge Hospital in Oak Ridge, Tenn., from May 15, 1950, through Dec. 31, 1959, for at least 250 workdays occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within other classes of employees in the SEC.

To date, nearly $3 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to eligible Oak Ridge Hospital workers and their survivors, and more than $5.4 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid nationwide under the EEOICPA. For additional information about the new SEC related to the Oak Ridge Hospital or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, please contact the Labor Department’s Oak Ridge Resource Center toll-free at 866-481-0411.